Empower Advisory Group LLC Boosts Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 771,541 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,887 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.14% of American Electric Power worth $71,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,154 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $80,207,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.8 %

AEP stock opened at $101.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $54.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.01 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 13.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEP. Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.